Halo 5 Memories of Reach brings new matchmaking options, increases crouch movement speed

News by Sherif Saed Contributing Editor

Published on May 9, 2016

The full list of new content and changes coming to Halo 5 with the Memories of Reach update.

Halo 5 Memories of Reach brings new matchmaking options, increases crouch movement speed

Memories of Reach, the upcoming free update for Halo 5, has been detailed in full.

Developer 343 talked a great deal about some of the key changes the update is making, as well as the full set of REQs in a new blog post. Memories of Reach is still without a solid release date, but it's slated for release this month.

One of the biggest additions comes in the form of new matchmaking settings. These give players control over certain parameters when it comes to landing specific matches. The three new options are:

Balanced: search for a match based on your fireteam's skill and network connection quality.
Expanded: widen search parameters to find the first available match with reasonable skill matching and network connection quality.
Focused: narrow search to find the best match based on your fireteam's skill and connection. Search times may be longer than normal.

The post-game screen will also be expanded, showing an overview of all rewards earned during the match. The following details were added to the screen:

All Medals earned from the match, including quantity, medal rarity, and description
Tool of Destruction
Killed Most (see who each player killed most, and how many times)
Killed By (see who each player fell victim to the most, and how many times)
Press LB or RB to view Commendations or Progress from your Recap
Press LT or RT to view Recaps of other players from the match.

One other major change 343 is making to the game, is increasing the movement speed while crouched. It's only a "slight increase," according to the developer, and the decision was reached after months of testing. "This has been increased to allow for crouching to be a more viable choice for players to flank and attack," explained the developer.

"The speed isn't drastic, but after months of testing we've found it to be the sweet spot."

A bug with the Spartan Charge ability was also fixed. Finally, 343 showed off the full suite of REQ items coming with Memories of Reach. As for the new Arena map, Stasis, it will be revealed during a livestream this Wednesday, May 11 at t 3pm PT.

Take a look at the full REQ release below: